Elevation Church: Found Favor (Part 2)

Read Nehemiah 1:11, 2:4-6, 18; 1 Samuel 2:26

These are just a few stories of where God's people find favor with Him - even at a young age!




God's hand is on us in a special way, even before we know it!




Just like Esther found favor and saved a great nation, you too can affect everybody around you by finding favor with God.




Jesus is the ultimate example of God's favor for us.

Luke 2:52 - "Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people."




Pastor Steven Furtick's (Pastor of Elevation Church) definition of favor:

The favor of God is the guarantee of His presence and the provision of His power to accomplish His special purpose in and through your life.




When you've found favor with God, you have the confidence that God is with you and for you to accomplish everything He's called you to do. You have the divine ability to seize opportunity and overcome opposition, because Jesus is fighting for you.




Unfortunately often when people ask for the favor of God, they expect favors from God. We can't pay Him back. Favor isn't fair. Fairness ended when Jesus died on the Cross and took our sins on His back. You don't want to play the favor game according to fairness. Favor isn't fair and you don't want it to be.




Favor is God deciding to be good to you just because He wants to be good to you and He wants to show the world who He is through your life.




God is fighting for you and the devil doesn't stand a chance against a child of God! :)




With God's favor your life WILL get harder - how else would God show His power over your circumstances if your life wasn't hard? God doesn't give you His favor for your convenience. He gives you His favor for His purpose to accomplish it through your life. God shows us favor not to make our lives easier, but to make His presence in our lives even bigger and more real so His purpose can be fulfilled.




Jesus found favor with God and it led Him to the Cross. With favor we learn to endure, trust, and have faith in God.




When we seek God's favor we will find it. You don't have to feel God's favor in order to find it.




"God's not going to give you the kind of help you're asking for because He wants to give you more help than any human can give. He Himself wants to be your source." - Holly Furtick, wife of Pastor Steven Furtick

Elevation Church: Found Favor (Part 1)

Exodus 33:12-13

Moses talking to God: "...I have found favor with you... don't forget that this nation is Your very own people."




We should do this too - give to God what is His; Our families are His to do with what He wants, similarly are our lives, ministries, careers, etc.




When we show dependency to God as Moses did here, we will find His favor.

vs.14-16 We see Moses saying/admitting He can't take a single step without God - DEPENDENCE!




God's favor on His people distinguishes us from everyone else (see vs. 16).




**God's favor gives you an opportunity, but your response and obedience determines whether or not you will seize it.**




The Bible is an anthology - the story of who God is.




Favor is not a formula. It doesn't always work "like this" or "like that." God cannot be contained to a formula. If someone is struggling, that does not mean they don't have God's blessing or favor. (See the Book of Job) In Job, God trusted Job enough that Job would stay faithful to Him even in great struggle.




Here are a few Pastor's opinions of what favor means:

"Favor is God doing for you what you can't do yourself."

"Favor is God's goodness displayed in an individual's life in such a way that only He can get the credit."

"Favor is a relationship with God of great confidence where no matter what you know that with God you're going to come out on top."

"Favor is the acceptance, approval, and assistance of God awarded to us through the finished work of Jesus."

"Favor is God graciously working to optimize your life and your circumstances for your good and His glory."




Whoever God used in the Bible found favor with Him before He even used them.

Examples: Genesis 6:8 Noah

12 - Abraham: God blessed Abraham so that he, in return, could be a blessing to others

18 - Abraham prayed that he would find favor in the sight of God




God's favor is not limited to any circumstance or situation. God's favor can find you wherever you are and bless you even in the hardest times of your life.




Read Ruth 2:10

Similarly to Ruth, people who find favor with God can't even believe they are where they are and they know it's the Lord that got them there.




When you find God's favor it doesn't make you arrogant; it makes you humble. When people say they have God's favor, they're acknowledging their dependence on Him and saying it's Him who got them where they are. It's arrogant not to say this.




When you find favor with God, it's about realizing you're already blessed and that He wants to bless you even more! :)

LifeChurch.tv Sermon Notes - Because of You

The local church is the hope of the world.




Mission statement of LifeChurch: to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ




1 Thessalonians 3:7-9

"We have been greatly comforted...because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives us new life, knowing you remain strong in the Lord. How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy in the presence of God."




When you walk in obedience to God, you're not surprised by the miracles of God.




It's impossible to please God without faith.




We are spiritual contributors not spiritual consumers. The Church does not exist for us. We are The Church and we exist for the world.